In an interview with FOX Business Network (FBN) Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, Financial)(BRK.B, Financial) Vice Chairman Charles Munger defended the decision to invest in Chinese electric-car company BYD despite the company’s failure to produce as many jobs and as much revenue as predicted. Munger said “BYD’s main activities when we invested were not vehicles at all and their original strength was in the lithium battery and they have just gone from strength to strength in that department.” He went on to say there was a “little glitch” in the technology for the cars but his “experience with great companies that have a little glitch is they come out stronger.”
On whether investing in BYD when electric vehicles account for only .1% of sales in the United States was a good investment:
“BYD’s main activities when we invested were not vehicles at all and their original strength was in the lithium battery and they have just gone from strength to strength in that department. And, of course, now you have LED lighting like in this building. It’s a huge technical leader across a great range of disciplines. They go in cars too but they have had a little glitch. My experience with great companies that have a little glitch is they come out stronger.”
On whether investing in BYD when electric vehicles account for only .1% of sales in the United States was a good investment:
“BYD’s main activities when we invested were not vehicles at all and their original strength was in the lithium battery and they have just gone from strength to strength in that department. And, of course, now you have LED lighting like in this building. It’s a huge technical leader across a great range of disciplines. They go in cars too but they have had a little glitch. My experience with great companies that have a little glitch is they come out stronger.”
